Paris Saint-Germain clinched a place in the Champions League final as goals by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave them a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their last-four tie on Wednesday, securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Ruiz crashed in a shot from the edge of the area in the 27th minute at the Parc des Princes to leave PSG firmly in the driving seat after they had withstood an early bombardment from the visitors.
Already leading in the tie after Ousmane Dembele’s goal in last week’s first leg, PSG then saw Vitinha have a second-half penalty saved.
However, Hakimi put the tie beyond Arsenal when he scored in the 72nd minute, even if Bukayo Saka did then pull one back for the visitors.
PSG advance to a showdown in Munich on May 31 against Inter Milan, and it will be the second Champions League final in their history, five years after a defeat by Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
Arsenal, meanwhile, saw their European dream come to an end as they fell short of reaching what would have been their second final, 19 years after losing to Barcelona in Paris.
Still without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, all that is left to play for now for Mikel Arteta’s side is securing a third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League.
There was an electric atmosphere all evening in Paris, and PSG were able to celebrate getting to a final in front of their fans for the first time, after their victory against RB Leipzig in the last four in 2020 was played behind closed doors during the pandemic.
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There was a feverish mood in and around the ground pre-match, but PSG have tripped up in big Champions League ties plenty of times over the last decade.
In addition, their top scorer, Dembele, was not in the starting line-up, having come off with a hamstring problem in the first leg.
Arsenal, with Thomas Partey back in midfield after missing the first leg through suspension, did their best to silence the raucous home support by throwing everything at the Parisians right from the off.
Declan Rice headed just wide, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Gabriel Martinelli from close range before producing a stunning save low to his left to keep out a Martin Odegaard shot, all inside the opening eight minutes.
PSG did eventually settle, and they almost went ahead on 17 minutes when Desire Doue teed up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose curling shot hit the far post.
Then Doue wasted a great chance, shooting straight at David Raya in the Arsenal goal after Bradley Barcola had intercepted a loose ball.
But PSG did score before the half-hour mark, the goal coming in the wake of a free-kick awarded for a Rice foul on Kvaratskhelia.
Vitinha’s delivery was headed out by Partey but fell to Ruiz on the edge of the box, and he controlled before smashing in a left-foot shot as the ball bounced back up.
It was the ideal moment for the 29-year-old Spaniard to score his first Champions League goal.
Barcola failed to convert a good chance for the hosts to score again moments later, and Arsenal still had some hope going into the second half.
Only another stunning Donnarumma save with his fingertips prevented Saka from pulling one back on 64 minutes, before PSG were awarded a spot-kick.
German referee Felix Zwayer gave the penalty after being summoned to the pitchside monitor when a shot by Hakimi brushed the outstretched hand of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
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Arteta was furious at the decision, yet Vitinha’s kick was turned away by Raya diving to his left.
Nevertheless, PSG made it 2-0 on the night when Dembele, on from the bench, teed up Hakimi to finish in style.
This being PSG, however, there was a wobble as Saka quickly pulled one back from close range after Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard had got the better of Marquinhos on the wing.
Saka then somehow blazed over with an open goal gaping from Riccardo Calafiori’s cross, ensuring that there would be no miracle Arsenal comeback, and it would be PSG’s night.
Paris Saint-Germain weathered one attack after another and showed remarkable adaptability to hold off and defeat an inspired Arsenal 2-1 to reach the Champions League final.
Deprived of the ball possession they so often enjoy, PSG looked in trouble early on but found the right answers to hurt the Gunners in the match on Wednesday.
They relied on counter-attacking football and an excellent Gianluigi Donnarumma to prevail, advancing 3-1 on aggregate.
“The feedback straightaway from their bench is that we were much better than them,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports after the game.
“When you look at the two games, the best player on the pitch has been their goalkeeper. He has made a difference for them in the tie.
“We were much closer than the results showed. I am very proud of the players, the way we handled the pressure, and after 20 minutes, it should have been 3-0.
“We are not there, and that has to hurt.”
PSG reached the final of Europe’s elite tournament for the second time in five years. They will take on Inter Milan on May 31 after the three-time champion defeated Barcelona 7-6 on aggregate in one of the greatest semifinals in the competition’s history.
PSG had lost to Borussia Dortmund at this stage last year and was beaten by Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.
PSG broke the deadlock in the 27th minute from a set piece after the Arsenal defence cleared a free kick towards the edge of the area. The ball bounced back into the path of Fabian Ruiz, who smashed a stunning half-volley into the back of the net.
Achraf Hakimi curled in a precise finish in the 72nd minute to make it 2-0 on the night, before Bukayo Saka pulled one back for the Gunners.
The England forward then spurned an open goal minutes later and, with it, the last real chance for a comeback to truly be mounted.
PSG had earlier missed the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot when Ferreira Vitinha had his kick saved by David Raya.
The kick itself was somewhat controversial in that VAR (video assistant referee) called back play when Myles Lewis-Skelly’s hand was innocuously clipped by Hakimi’s shot.
“Over the two legs, we could have scored three or four more goals,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.
“Sometimes, you have to lose a few to win, you have to overcome some of these setbacks to grow as a player and a team.
“We are growing as a team, but we need to keep pushing and believing. This is why we play. There will be setbacks on the way.
After months of keeping their romance relatively low-key, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet have finally taken their relationship public in a big way – on the red carpet in Rome.
The lovebirds turned heads at the 70th David di Donatello Awards on Wednesday, where they posed together for photographers at a high-profile photocall. While Timothée, 29, skipped the Met Gala just days earlier, fans didn’t have to wait long to see the couple make their formal debut.
As ever, Kylie, 27, stunned in a figure-hugging black gown with a plunging neckline, confidently linking arms with her man as they arrived at the glitzy party. The smitten pair, who have been romantically linked since early 2023, shared affectionate glances and held hands, making no effort to hide their deep connection.
Call Me By Your Name star Timothee, ever the style icon, opted for a sleek black velvet suit for the prestigious Italian awards show. The event held special significance for him as he was honored with the coveted Special David award which recognised his achievements in film.
While many had speculated that fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala, would serve as their debut, it wasn’t to be. Timothee’s absence from the New York event didn’t go unnoticed, sparking buzz online.
A source close to the couple revealed the reason behind his no-show: “Timothée did consider going to the Met Gala, but he is a huge Knicks fan and Kylie knows this,” they said. “Kylie didn’t bother him to go with her and that’s something he appreciates about her. She allows him to do his own thing.”
Kylie and Timothee’s relaxed approach seems to work well for the couple, who have, until now, kept their relationship out of the spotlight- reserving their public appearances for private parties and low-key outings. However, their radiant Rome appearance marks a turning point for the lovebirds.
They’re loved-up red carpet debut comes amid reports Timothee is set to play a secret set at Glastonbury 2025 following his incredible performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
After stepping into the iconic shoes of the music icon for a critically acclaimed biopic that stormed awards season, Timothée turned heads not only for his portrayal but for singing Dylan’s classics himself rather than lip-syncing.
Now, rumors suggest that Chalamet will be bringing that same raw vocal energy to Glastonbury 2025 – specifically, to an unannounced set that’s already buzzing with speculation.
The Sun reports that Chalamet is tipped to appear on the Acoustic Stage on Saturday, June 28, as part of the Dylan-inspired ensemble Not Completely Unknown.
The listing for the band on Glastonbury’s official site hints at “special guests,” further fueling the whispers. If it happens, it would mark the first time Chalamet has taken his Dylan interpretations into a true live concert setting outside of film promotions.
Earlier this year, he performed a small collection of songs on Saturday Night Live with James Blake, kicking off with a full-band rendition of “Outlaw Blues” (from Bringing It All Back Home, 1965).
He then sang “Three Angels” from New Morning (1970), where Blake joined him, and he wrapped the set with a stripped-back acoustic version of “Tomorrow Is A Long Time.”
The administration of President Donald Trump has continued to face setbacks in its attempts to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters, as courts probe whether the students’ rights have been violated.
On Wednesday, separate courts issued orders related to two of the most high-profile cases: that of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
In New York, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish student from Tufts University, be moved to Vermont no later than May 14.
That ruling marked a rejection of a Trump administration appeal to delay the transfer and keep Ozturk in Louisiana, where she has been held in an immigration detention centre since late March.
“We’re grateful the court refused the government’s attempt to keep her isolated from her community and her legal counsel as she pursues her case for release,” said Esha Bhandari, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Ozturk.
Separately, in Newark, New Jersey, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to deliver specifics about its rationale for describing Khalil, a leader in Columbia University’s student protests, as a threat to US foreign policy.
The latest ruling in Ozturk’s case highlighted a practice that has become common under the Trump administration: Many foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement have been transferred to detention centres far from their homes.
Ozturk’s ordeal began on March 25, when six plain-clothed police officers arrested her outside her home in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, where she went to school.
Supporters believe Ozturk, a PhD student and Fulbright scholar from Turkiye, was targeted for having co-written an opinion article in her student newspaper, calling on Tufts University to acknowledge Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.
The US is a longtime ally of Israel and has supported its military campaign in Gaza. The Trump administration has accused Ozturk of having “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans”, though it has not offered evidence.
After she was detained outside her home, Ozturk was reportedly whisked across state borders, first to Vermont and later to Louisiana, all within a 24-hour period, according to her lawyers.
Critics have described those rapid transfers as a means of subverting due process, separating foreign students from family, friends and legal resources they can otherwise draw upon.
In Ozturk’s case, the confusion led her lawyers to file a petition for her release in Massachusetts, as they did not know where she was when they submitted the paperwork.
On April 18, a lower court ruled that Ozturk must be returned to Vermont no later than May 1, as it weighed her habeas petition: a type of complaint that challenges the legality of one’s detention.
“No one should be arrested and locked up for their political views. Every day that Rumeysa Ozturk remains in detention is a day too long,” Bhandari, her lawyer, said in a statement.
But the Trump administration appealed, seeking an emergency stay of Ozturk’s transfer to Vermont.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected (PDF) that request, however. It said the government had failed to show any “irreparable harm” that Ozturk’s transfer would cause.
“Faced with such a conflict between the government’s unspecific financial and administrative concerns on the one hand, and the risk of substantial constitutional harm to Ozturk on the other, we have little difficulty concluding ‘that the balance of hardships tips decidedly’ in her favor,” the court wrote.
Though Ozturk is expected to be transferred to Vermont, where her habeas petition will be heard, the Trump administration is slated to continue with deportation proceedings in Louisiana.
The appeals court, however, explained that this should be no challenge for the Trump administration, given that Ozturk can appear through video conference for those hearings.
“The government asserts that it would face difficulties in arranging for Ozturk to appear for her immigration proceedings in Louisiana remotely,” the court wrote. “But the government has not disputed that it is legally and practically possible for Ozturk to attend removal proceedings remotely.”
The Trump administration has the option of appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.
Likewise, Khalil faces deportation proceedings in Louisiana while his habeas petition is heard in New Jersey, closer to his home in New York City.
On March 8, he became the first high-profile case of a student protester being arrested for deportation. Agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at his student housing building at Columbia University, where his wife, a US citizen, filmed him being handcuffed and led away.
Khalil himself was a US permanent resident who recently graduated from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is of Palestinian descent.
On Tuesday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in New Jersey rejected a bid by the Trump administration to transfer Khalil’s habeas petition to Louisiana.
And on Wednesday, US District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz ordered the Trump administration to provide a specific assessment of the risks Khalil poses by being in the US.
Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil’s detention and deportation. A rarely used provision of the law allows secretaries of state to remove noncitizens who could cause “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”.
But Rubio has so far been vague about what those consequences might be in Khalil’s case. The student protest leader has been charged with no crime.
Judge Farbiarz also required the Trump team to supply a catalogue of every case in which US officials have employed that law. The Trump administration is expected to appeal that judge’s order as well.
The United States and the Houthis have agreed to a ceasefire.
The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, began attacking Israel and commercial shipping and some US navy vessels in the Red Sea after Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
In response to Houthi attacks on shipping lanes, the US carried out attacks on the Iran-aligned group in Yemen.
Under the truce deal mediated by Oman, the US will halt its strikes on Houthi sites, and the Yemeni group will stop attacking US ships.
But the agreement does not include a truce in the conflict between Israel and the Houthis.
So, will Israel also stop its attacks? What does this all mean for the acute humanitarian crisis facing Yemenis?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Maysaa Shuja al-Deen – Senior researcher, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies
Ahmed al-Ashwal – Political and military analyst